Barefoot Trail
by Jounetsu-no-Hana
Summary: A side story of Memory of Lightwaves, taking place two years after the wedding. Songfic


**This was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Rikku. Gippal. Beach. Water. :D! This is a side story of Memory of Lightwaves. There are no names in it really because this is them in their world where there's nobody but each other. Ain't that cute?**

**Two Years After The Wedding**

She gave him a dazzling smile. He grinned just as happily back at her. Her smile dropped.

"Oh, come _on!_ Please?" she said, clasping her hands together. He seemed to consider for a minute, then shook his head. She sighed, and then started unwrapping her sarong. "Not even to see me in my… _new_ bikini? All wet and stuff like that? My hair shining just like in your fantasies." She said, letting the sarong fall to the sand. He still shook his head.

_When the soles of the shoes we've been used to wearing for so long have worn out_

_And there's also a hole in our moods, do we just give up and stop?_

"Nope. I love you dearly, but sharks love me too. I'm afraid if they get their fins on me, I might not be able to come back to you." He replied. "Even if you are wearing a _new_ bikini. Couldn't we just go back home and take a shower? There's water in that too…"

"Uh! You'd rather take a shower than be in the ocean with _me_?" She asked.

"No. You'd be in the shower _with_ me." He said, winking at her. She sighed, and then waded into the water.

_Barefoot is fine; we'll throw off our old shoes_

_And ride the dancing wind in our bare skin_

"I love you?" She called back to him.

"I love you too." He replied. She sighed again. She hadn't gotten him in the water in six years. At least, not water that hadn't already been purified by machina. And besides, the oasis in Bikanel was nothing like the exhilaration of the ocean.

"I'll take a shower later if you come in!" she called to him.

"You'd take one with me anyway. You don't need the ocean to seal the deal." He replied to that with a laugh. She growled at him then got on her hands and knees, then rolled over so the waves washed over her body.

_Once we've crossed the hill, there's the summer sea_

_Let's run down to the shining beach_

"Please?" she asked, running her fingers through her loose hair. He actually stood up, and then looked around.

"Stop it. There are men looking at you. I'm going to have to embarrass you soon if you don't stop." He said, looking completely serious and grinning at the same time because of what he had in mind. She pretended she somehow didn't hear him and arched her back against the sandy waves. He turned around.

_We've been walking a long way and the road is already blocked_

_If we open a door on an uncharted path, where will it lead to?_

"HEY! YOU! STOP LOOKING AT MY GODDAMN WIFE! YEAH YOU! SHE'S EVEN BETTER OUT OF THE WATER AND YOU'LL NEVER KNOW! 'CAUSE SHE'S _MINE_!" He yelled. She started giggling. He got on his knees and kissed her upside down. She grinned. When he pulled away, she whispered to him,

"You're hands are all wet." He looked down at them and sighed.

"Uh huh." He crawled back to his beach chair and grabbed his book out of the bag. "We have to go back in an hour." He said.

"Why?" she asked as she rolled off of her back onto her stomach and started shaking sand out of her hair.

_Anywhere is fine; if we're together we can go_

_Even across the rainbow to where unknown flowers bloom_

"Because…" he said, putting his fingers up to the place where the bookmark was and to the back cover "… I only have…" he held up the measurement in the air "… this much left." She sighed.

"Gip, that's how many pages I've read in a _month_. Those glasses must give you superpowers." She said with a grin as he tugged out his thick black rimmed glasses. He sneered at her and opened his book. She watched him for a few minutes, and then crawled slowly out into the water. When she got out to her chest, she turned back to the shore and screamed.

_Following the footsteps of where our mood takes us_

_Let's draw up a new map_

"Ah! Help! Gip-"she then ducked under the water. She waited a few seconds, and then peeked out of it. He was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on. I know you can do better than that." He said. She glowered at him.

"What's a girl to do when she gets a cramp from that yummy lunch you made her and she starts drowning and you don't care because you think she's acting?" she asked him with her hands on her hips as she waded back to the shore.

"I'll live the rest of my life a heartbroken man and will never forgive myself and will never involve myself with women again." She raised her eyebrow at him. "Or men?" he added. She waved her hands at him in disgust.

_You're worrying over your reason for running off_

_That's a bad habit of yours_

_Before asking "why?" or "what for?"_

_Let's take off, still barefoot_

"Completely ignore that whole "save her" part." She said. He smiled stupidly.

"That too." He said. She kicked water in his direction, but she was too far for it to even mist him. He smiled at her and pulled his sunglasses down. She finally got out of the water.

"Put the book down if you like it." She said. He looked confused, but put it down anyway. She then ran over and tackled him, the chair tumbling over into the sand. They rolled around for a few minutes, each trying to pin the other, until she finally got the leg up and started tugging him with all her strength to the water. And that was a lot of strength over the past few years.

_And fly to the ends of the map_

_Let's both you and I score a goal_

_Just a little further now_

_Just a lot further now_

"NO! NOOOOOO!" He said in a strangled voice.

"COME-ON!" She said. Even though she was strong, so was he. "YOU'RE KIDS ARE GONNA HATE YOU IF YOU NEVER GO IN THE WATER WITH THEM!" She added. With a final tug, she sent him sprawling into the ocean. He stood up and turned around slowly. His hair dripped as he stared at her. He pointed at her, and then ran his finger across his throat. She squealed and started running away. Of course, he caught up with her and tackled her to the ground. She howled with laughter as he looked down at her with a mischievous gleam in his gaze.

_Let's go right to the world's edge_

_Before someone catches up to us_

_It's okay if you stumble!_

_I'm right here by your side_

Their backs were stung by the sand, and it stuck to him because of the salty water covering him. It stuck to her too, and sprinkled in their hair. He bit her neck gently.

"You know you have to pay for that, right?" he whispered to her. She giggled.

"Oooh, I can't wait." She said. "So, how many kids do you want to have?"

"None, until you're done with your debt. You are racking up to be quite an expensive wife. You gotta pay me back for these things, like going to the beach." He replied.

"Yes, but what if one of these "paybacks" is your future son or daughter? What do you want it to be?"  
"A girl."

"Why? I want a boy." She said. He shrugged.

"Boys are annoying. They're always fighting with each other." He said.

"Yeah, but little girls are bitchy with their dolls and stuff. These kids aren't gonna appreciate anything. _They_ aren't gonna grow up with Sin in their backyards."

"You sound like that's a bad thing."

"It's not. But I think this generation learned to appreciate being alive, because tomorrow was never guaranteed. These kids only have to worry about kidnappers and guns."

_And I'll be backing you up_

_Till you're in high spirits again_

_"Why am I doing this?" you ask?_

_Well, that's pretty obvious_!

"Don't worry. We'll tell these kids vivid details of the times. They'll appreciate having superhero parents."

"Well, one of us is a superhero."

"Me, right?"

"No, me! I saved the world _twice_, then took care of you when you got the flu, then planned our entire wedding!" He thought about it for a few minutes.

"Yeah you're right. They'll love me for my good looks." He said, running his hand through his hair.

_Geez, you really are dense; haven't you noticed_

_The reason I'm walking by your side?_

"I've got good looks too. Find something original about yourself."

"I can scream loud." He said with a grin.

"I'm louder. I took over for you when you were sick." She replied with a grin. She flipped him over and rested her elbows on his shoulders, waiting for his originality.

"I'm a guy…"

"Obviously…"

"Ummm…"

"I see something..."

"Was that a hint?"

"Sort of."

"I have one eye?"

"Well… that too. But something very original about you is that you are the only man that I will ever love. Nobody else can say that."

"What about your dad? And Brother?"

"We'll they're a different kind of love. I don't think that I want to be in debt to Brother." She said, shivering. He laughed and combed her hair with his fingers, working the sand and knots out of her hair. "What do you say we go home and take that shower that we both need? I don't think this sand will ever come out otherwise." She said. They both stood up and raced back to the beach house. That night started a completely different story in their lives. Parenthood.

_Someday, when we both find our way to the promised place_

_I'll dive barefoot into your uncharted heart_


End file.
